30_06 predator rifle

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fox_killer86

New member
This year i plan on using a 30-06 shooting a 147 gr FMJ shell. Would this work for fox and coyote, What is your opinion on this shell. Steve
 
I don't know if you reload, but you can reload a 30 06 with a 22 caliber bullet and a plastic sabot. I would recomend that over the larger bullet. If you don't reload, i would try and find a smaller bullet, like 125 sp, I know that will drop a coyote in its tracks.
 
30-06 for coyote and fox, ya, that ought to kill em. But really, even a FMJ will totally destroy a critter, if hit at an angle the involves, shoulders and hips, I know that most of these boys on the board kill theirs broadside, but of the six coyotes and one cat I took this weekend, only two yotes were broadside, two were head on, one quartering in, and one, well lets just say the game was up and he was leaving. The cat was sitting head on, one to the chest, with a 52gr HP out of 223, bingo instant field dress. Small cat though, about 14 lbs, before the shot. I am not a reloader, so go with what the boys on the board says work for them, but understand that all loads will at one time or another do alot of damage, however my 17Rem, doesn't seem to hurt much fur, but it doesn't kill to good at 250 to 300 yards either, pick your shots.
 
I use my 30.06 for coyote and i found a great varmint bullet. Remington makes an accelerator bullet in 55 gr for the 30.06. Muzzle velocity is 4080 fps, and the drop at 200 yards is only 5.41 inches. Varmint hunting is what Remington had in mind when they made this bullet. In my opinion it is one of the best bullets out there. I have ran the ballistic reports on the .223, the 22.250, .220 swift and the .17 remington. This accelerator bullet for the 30.06 beats them all for velocity which in turn makes a flatter flying bullet. Check it out.
 
fox_killer86,

I see that you are from Minnesota. I'm not sure which part but I'm in West Central Minnesota. In my neck of the woods, there are farm places galore around every corner. Your full metal jacket bullet will be like the energizer bunny. It will keep going and going and... That sucker will bounce off the frozen dirt every single time. It is NOT a safe round.

And, you'll be amazed at the damage it will do to a fox or coyote. You take out a shoulder on one and those bone fragments will become like a missle going through their body. It will be messy.

I'd really suggest you back off of that 30-06. In Minnesota, the .17 rem is the caliber of choice. The little bullet will reliably kill fox and coyotes past two hundred yards (which is a long shot around here and if you are calling them, you should be able to get them in closer).

Bottom line - poor choice.

Randy

PS, let me know where you are at and when you'll be hunting so I'm not in the woods at the same time!
 
two questions for you coyoteaddict regarding the accelerator rounds

1. what kind of groups do you get with them?

2. what do you pay per 20 rounds?

back when they first came out, i bought a few for a marlin 30/30 lever gun i owned (the only rifle i owned for bigger game) i found the groups less than adequate even at 100 yards. the rifle had marlin's microgroove barrel making it fairly accurate out to ranges of 200 yards with factory softies.........but the accelerator rounds went haywire through it........i also seem to remember paying over 15 bucks for 20 rounds.......i think i'll stick with my .223. i can shoot better accuracy with the same bullet weight .55 gr. and i can buy ammo a lot cheaper!
ksboy
 
KS- YOU HAVE TO CLEAN YOUR BARREL BEFORE YOU SHOOT SABOTED ROUNDS. I HAVE RELOADED THESE FOR A FRIENDS (JOHN Mc) AND IF HE DOESN'T CLEAN HIS BARREL FIRST THEY SHOOT LIKE CRAP. 55 GRAIN HOLLOW POINT SABOTED ROUNDS WORK GREAT ON OLD YOTE. IF YOU CAN FIND OR RELOAD THEM, THATS WHAT I WOULD USE. THAT LITTLE BULLET WILL DUMP ALL OF IT ENERGY FAST AND WON'T TAKE OUT THE COWS, SHEEP AND NEIGHBOR BEHIND THEM.

CHECK OUT SOME OF THESE
www.reloadammo.com/sabot.htm
jdcomponents.com/index.html

LET US KNOW HOW IT GOES

SNIPE
 
I haven't killed any coyotes or foxes yet (I am trying /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif ), but I would have to agree with the others on NOT using FMJ bullets, especially over frozen ground. They can bounce several times and still go for miles. I think ANY .30 cal. bullet out of a 30-06 is pretty much going to make a mess out of a fox. I would suggest trying the "accelerator" bullets or a plain old 130 - 150 gr. SP. The SP bullet is not going to expand much vs. the FMJ in a small critter like a fox, anyway, but it will start to deform and fragment when hitting the ground. If you are serious about keeping the furs, You should consider getting a more appropriate caliber like a .223, 22-250, etc (hey we can always use an excuse...er... reason to get another gun, right). FMJ bullets are far to dangerous to the surounding countryside to be used for hunting, thats why some states outlaw them for hunting.
 
I used the accelerators once. My gun would only hold about a 3 inch group at 50 yards with them. Did I mention that I only used them once. :rolleyes:
 
Some years back Rick Jamison of Shooter's Times had an article about loading some light weight flat nosed lead bullets to about 2000fps for target and small to coyote sized game. I had a mold around that spit out 112 grain flat nosed bullets that I resized to .309, lubricated and pressed on a gas check to the bottom. They would group around the 3" mark at 100 yards and banged up my spinning target pretty bad. One fine cold morning I slipped out to a spot near the house I new a dog was living in and proceeded to call. At the 15 minute mark here she comes straight across the field toward me. I raised the /06 up and at 40 yards placed one head on. Down she went hard. I reloaded fast and when her back started arching as if she might try to get up, though in reality I don't think she could, I popped another through her broadside. Not a twitch after that. No pelt damage and no worries about the poor sap in the next county. I have taken a coyote with 180 grain sp's but I had to be real sure it was lined up with the woods before I could pull the trigger. It's not worth the worry and the pelt was shredded.
 
As I mentioned on the firearms forum (I think it was) you can expect pelt damage from a .30-06 regardless of what your loads are, unless you are shooting a seriously reduced load.

The size and speed of a bullet coming out of a .30-06 hits with a lot of force. That force translates into a wound channel and tissue stretch. The larger the wound channel and the more tissue stretch, the more damage will occour to the pelt, meat, organs, etc.

Here's some quick numbers (all representative at muzzle):
45 gain bullet at 3500 fps = 1225 ft/lbs of impact force.
55 grain @ 3500 fps = 1496 ft/lbs
65 grain @ 3500 fps = 1769 ft/lbs
The above three a a general representation of various .22 cal centerfire cartridges.

Now for some bullets shot from a .30-06:
125 grain @ 3000 fps = 2499 ft/lbs
150 grain @ 2800 fps = 2612 ft/lbs
165 grain @ 2750 fps = 2771 ft/lbs
180 grain @ 2700 fps = 2914 ft/lbs

So regardless of what style bullet you are shooting, it's basically like a Mac truck slamming into something vs. a Saturn.

Now then, if you get into a reduced load, say:
130 grains @ 2000 fps = 1155 ft/lbs
150 grains @ 2000 fps = 1333 ft/lbs
Both of there are basically going to hit with similar force to the above listed .22 cal centerfires.

Problem with reduced loads is that bullets are designed to operate at certain impact forces. If a bullet is going too slow because it's a reduced load or fired from a very long distance it may not hit with enough force to properly expand or fragment or whatever the bullet it designed to do. Start hitting things like bones and the bones now come into motion and serve as projectiles themselves. Most of the times you will find reduced loads to be either full metal jacket or hard cast lead. The HCL is the safer of the two as it is less prone to ricochet hazzards, whereas the FMJ rounds don't leave lead fouling in the barrel.

Bottom line is, a .30-06 shooting typical loads will cause excessive pelt damage.

Glenn
 
In response to ksboy2

You are correct in stating that the accelerator bullets are on the expensive side...about $25.00 for a box of 20. I use about 2 boxes a year. I guess I could stop hunting and save the $50 a year for 24 years, then I would have enough money to buy the Bushmaster Varminter AR-15. The bottom line for me is that I can use the same rifle for Elk, bear, whitetail deer, coyote, bobcat, fox, and most any other game i choose to hunt by simply using different loads. This is just my preference, and to tell you the truth, if I had the money to spend I would buy a new rifle for every game I hunt...but I don't so for me the 30.06 does a fine job. But if you have the money, buy the varminter... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
coyoteaddict

i certainly wasn't trying to ruff your feathers. I totally understand your point of view regarding having one gun. If you like those bullets, certainly keep using them. I don't, so i won't use em. I don't wanna detour you from coyote hunting either. Do what you gotta do to have a good time. We gotta stick together. Remember, its "us vs. them"
later
ksboy
 
I look at guns as tools, therefore, I reserve my .30-06 as a tool for big game hunting and the .22-250 for predators. The .22-250 and .223 don't have the recoil and are tack drivers. I need a tack driving tool that doesn't beat me up when shooting small targets at long range.

Tack 'em!
 
Before I got my .223 I used my .30-06 for all of my out-of-shotgun-range coyote hunting. I used 110gr Hornady V-Max bullets and yes they did create pelt damage. Not bad on the entrance, typically .30 cal sized, but the exits could be messy. Not nearly as bad as say a 125gr Nosler BT which I also used, but still messy. I must say that with the V-Max I saw one go though the neck on a broadside shot with almost no expansion, and one that hit head on in the mouth and must have deflected down the throat because there was no exit. Now, however, it is back to game loads in that trusty old rifle and I'm shooting 55gr Nosler BT's out of my .223.
 
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